Search

This research aims to explore a novel PCM that can satisfy the needs of vaccine cold chain logistics temperature zone (2–8 °C), with decyl alcohol (DA) and lauric acid (LA) chose to be eutectic. Considering the thermal conductivity and leakage of materials, DA-LA/EG composite phase change material (CPCM) with a mass ratio of 12:1 is prepared by the vacuum adsorption method. The thermal properties of DA-LA/EG CPCM are analyzed by DSC, cooling curve, Hot Disk, SEM etc. From the DSC graphs of DA-LA eutectic phase change material (EPCM), it is found that there is difference between the melting temperature and solidification temperature, which is defined as phase change hysteresis. The results indicate that the phase transition temperature of DA-LA/EG CPCM is 2.08 °C, with high latent heat and thermal conductivity of 188.71 J g−1 and 1.7527 W m−1 K−1, respectively. Due to the unique porous structure of EG, the thermal conductivity is 13.75 times higher than that without EG, which leads to the phase transition time shortened by 79.47%. Furthermore, DA-LA/EG CPCM shows excellent cyclic stability and chemical stability after 500 high-low temperature alternating tests. From TGA, the decomposition temperature of DA-LA/EG CPCM is 186.55 °C, higher than the working temperature range. The applicability is demonstrated by using the CPCM into an incubator. Overall, DA-LA/EG CPCM has good application prospects in vaccine cold chain logistics.

In order to solve the phase separation problem of Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O PCM (phase change material), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC), xanthan gum (XG), sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) and polyacrylamide (PAM) were selected as additives. The effects of different proportions of the above thickeners on the supercooling degree, phase separation, phase change temperature and latent heat of Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O system were studied by using the cooling curve and DSC, so as to screen the best thickener for eutectic PCM. The experimental results show that CMC, XG and PAAS can eliminate the phase separation of Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O. Among them, the optimal ratio of CMC, XG and PAAS is 3 mass%, 3 mass% and 1 mass%, respectively. From the perspective of heat storage performance, PAAS is the optimal thickener for Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O. The phase change temperature is 40.5 °C. The subcooling degree is about 14.7 °C, and the latent heat is about 221 J g−1. The melting time is 15 min. Only PAAS can make Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O eutectic PCM completely exothermic at room temperature, which can not only play the role of thickener to eliminate phase separation, but also is a nucleating agent. After 100 melting-solidification cycles, the change rate of latent heat value was only 5%, and the change rate of phase transition temperature was less than 1%. Considering heat storage performance and cyclic stability, PAAS is the optimal thickener for Na2S2O3·5H2O–CH3COONa·3H2O PCM.

Vascular embolization provides an effective approach for the treatment of hemorrhage, aneurysms, and other vascular abnormalities. However, current embolic materials, such as metallic coils and liquid embolic agents, are limited by their inability to provide safe, consistent, and controlled embolization. Here, we report an injectable hydrogel that can remain at the injection site and subsequently undergo in situ covalent crosslinking, leading to the formation of a dual-crosslinking network (DCN) hydrogel for endovascular embolization. The DCN hydrogel is simple to prepare, easy to deploy via needles and catheters, and mechanically stable at the target injection site, thereby avoiding embolization of nontarget vessels. It possesses efficient hemostatic activity and good biocompatibility. The DCN hydrogel is also clearly visible under X-ray imaging, thereby allowing for targeted embolization. In vivo tests in a rabbit artery model demonstrates that the DCN hydrogel is effective in achieving immediate embolization of the target artery with long-term occlusion by inducing luminal fibrosis. Collectively, the DCN hydrogel provides a viable, biocompatible, and cost-effective alternative to existing embolic materials with clinical translation potential for endovascular embolization.

Radioactive iodine, one type of nuclear waste, is harmful to the environment and human health due to its long half-life and volatility. Therefore, designing and synthesizing low-cost and easily-made materials for the effective adsorption of radioiodine is widely concerned. Herein, a biscuit-shaped new material was synthesized by a grinding-mixing coupled with sonication protocol through self-assembly interactions between citrazinic acid (CA) and cytosine (CY) aiming to achieve the iodine capture from both vapor and solution. Electronic structure calculations were used to reveal the adsorption mechanism. The results showed that the high uptake of iodine by CACY originates from the charge transfer via CACY to the antibonding molecular orbital (σ∗) of I2. Meanwhile, trouble-free entry pore sizes of CACY also contribute to the physisorption of molecular iodine. Besides, the iodine molecule is preferentially perpendicularly adsorbed on the carbon atom of the CA ring. Moreover, CACY exhibits a high capture for iodine in hexane following pseudo-second-order kinetics and fitting the Langmuir isotherm model. This work presents a facile and inexpensive synthesis approach for radioiodine adsorption materials and provides new insights into the interaction mechanism between the self-assembled materials and the adsorbates.

In this work, the light coupling efficiency of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and polymer optical waveguide integrated device was improved by the grating coupler. To maximize light coupling efficiency, the grating coupler was optimized by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Based on the simulation results, the grating coupler was fabricated via laser interference lithography process and an OLED was integrated on the surface of it. Comparing the integrated devices without and with grating coupler, light coupling efficiency of the grating-based integrated device was improved by about 5%. The proposed integrated device has the potential application for low-cost and flexible monolithic optical sensors.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) possess outstanding theoretical energy density and have attracted widespread attention as the next generation of energy storage devices for various crucial applications. However, the commercialization of LMBs has to simultaneously overcome numerous challenges, such as inferior Coulombic efficiency and cycling performance, high self-discharge, and complicated interfacial reactions. It has traditionally been an enormous challenge about the uniform deposition of lithium on the surface of current collector to relieve the formation of lithium dendrites. In this study, a novel efficient strategy of plating uniform lithiophilic polythiophene derivatives substrates on Cu foils was developed and the nucleation mechanism of Li ions on polythiophene derivatives substrates was further explored. We first explored the interaction between polythiophene derivatives substrates and Li ions by first-principles calculations, and found shorter side chains of polythiophene derivatives can enhance the adsorption energy and promote the diffusion rate of Li ions. Polythiophene derivatives substrates have a large number of dispersive lipophilic sites and Li ions diffusion channels in the main chain, which can effectively regulate the nucleation and growth stages of Li ions deposition. We further found polythiophene derivatives with different side chains can induce the electrodeposition of Li ions with different morphology, while the polythiophene derivatives with the shortest side chains can contribute to the most excellent cycle efficiency, resulting in a uniform lithium deposition with less lithium dendritic growth experimentally.

Pathological changes of human tissues, such as tumors, can cause changes in the dielectric properties of the tissues. Based on this characteristic, we propose an implantable antenna sensor and study its radiation and sensing performance in breast tumor recurrence diagnosis in the 2.45 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band. The antenna sensor shows the advantage of miniaturization with a volume of 13.2mm3 by employing an S-shape monopole antenna and a closed loop. The simulated results show that the antenna sensor has a good radiation pattern with peak gain values of −8.4 and −17.9dBi in normal and malignant breast tissue, respectively. Furthermore, the antenna sensor exhibits good sensitivity to the dielectric properties of breast tissue. When the permittivity increases by 10, the resonance frequency decreases between 9-18MHz. To verify the simulated results, the sensing properties and the radiation patterns of the implantable antenna sensor were measured in the pork and tissue-mimicking liquid. The measured results are consistent with the simulated ones. Hence, the proposed antenna can be used as a wireless sensor to monitor pathological changes of human tissues, such as breast tumors.

Several mesostructured cellular foams (MCFs) were prepared and modified for NO adsorption. TMB, NH4F and n-heptane were used as swelling agents, and APTES was used as the modified agent. The morphological structure, chemical composition, thermostability were tested to study the effects of the preparation process on the characterizations of materials. NO adsorption ability of the materials were studied and discussed. NH4F and n-heptane had better pore swelling effects compared to TMB, however adding TMB together with NH4F and n-heptane could not enlarge the pore structure further. The MCFs materials could keep steady below 800 °C, but after grafting APTES on the surface of the materials, the thermogravimetric curve of materials began to decrease at 300 °C. The materials using NH4F and n-heptane as the swelling agents, and modified by APTES had better NO adsorption ability, and the selectivity of the materials were decided by the molecular polarity of the adsorbates. After the modification, the hydrophobic effect of the samples could increase because of the alkyl groups in APTES. The adsorption capacity of the materials could keep steady for ten times without the coexisting component, H2O, CO2 and SO2 all had negative effects on the regeneration of the materials.

Glioma is one of the most lethal and complex tumors, and thus, an effective drug delivery system must selectively target the tumor sites and release its cargos in a controlled manner. For the first time, we combined chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) and chemosensitizer lonidamine (LND) to synergistically treat glioma. We also designed and prepared multitargeted redox-sensitive liposomes (Lip-SPG) co-modified with glucose and triphenylphosphonium (TPP) to effectively deliver DOX and LND for anti-glioma therapy. The anti-glioma evaluation shows that DOX and LND have a synergistic effect and Lip-SPG could further enhance their cooperation. In vitro, Lip-SPG could increase the cellular uptake and mitochondrial uptake on bEnd.3 cells and C6 cells with multitargeting ability on the brain, tumor, and mitochondria mediated by glucose and TPP. Lip-SPG can also escape from lysosomes before entering the mitochondria. The anti-glioma efficacy in vitro shows that Lip-SPG can inhibit tumor cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. In addition, Lip-SPG have a remarkable interference to mitochondria, such as reducing intracellular ATP production, inducing ROS generation, and promoting mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization. Furthermore, in vivo, the introduction of PEGylation via glutathione-sensitive disulfide bonds endows Lip-SPG with favorable pharmacokinetic properties, brain targeting ability, low toxicity to normal tissues, and great anti-glioma efficacy with the survival time extended from 19 to 39 days. In conclusion, Lip-SPG are an effective delivery system for synergistically treating glioma with DOX and LND.

In the present study, an industrially viable ceramics fabrication way based on solid-state reaction method–semi-solution method was used to improve the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of acceptor-donor co-doped BaTiO3 ceramics. Unlike the conventional solid-state reaction method, additives in the semi-solution method were introduced in the form of the aqueous solution rather than oxide powders. Experiment results show that higher peak dielectric constant e m a x (140–150%), larger maximum polarization P m a x (24 μC cm−2), and less apparent aging phenomena were achieved by the semi-solution method. A comprehensive microscopic analysis was carried out to explore the origin of property enhancement. Results show that enhanced properties could be ascribed to the higher level of compositional homogeneity and lower content of oxygen vacancies. This study provides a new method to control aging phenomena and achieve property enhancement in acceptor-donor co-doped ceramics. Moreover, this simple and cost-effective method may also find its application in other extensive-doped ceramics.

Developing efficient, stable, and cheap photocatalysts for H2 production has aroused great interest among researchers. Herein, noble-metal-free ZnO/SrTiO3 composite photocatalysts have been successfully prepared by hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible diffusion spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy are used to characterize the obtained samples. The photocatalytic water splitting for H2 production by ZnO/SrTiO3 has been studied under simulated sunlight irradiation by using triethanolamine as a sacrificial agent and Eosin Y (EY) dye as a sensitizer. The orthogonal experiments are designed to optimize the photocatalytic reaction conditions for practical purposes. The influencing extents and trends of the factors have been investigated, including the catalyst composition and dosage, pH value of the solution, triethanolamine, and EY addition. Under the optimum conditions, the H2 production rate with ZnO/SrTiO3 is up to 16006.12 μmol g−1 h−1. The excellent performance of ZnO/SrTiO3 is attributed to the formation of a step-scheme (S-scheme) heterojunction, which promotes the separation of photocarriers and reduces their recombination probability.

Kinesin-1 is a motor protein moving along a microtubule with its two identical motor heads dimerized by two neck linkers and a coiled-coil stalk. When both motor heads bind the microtubule, an internal strain is built up between the two heads, which is indispensable to ensure proper coordination of the two motor heads during kinesin-1's mechanochemical cycle. The internal strain forms a tensile force along the neck linker that tends to unwind the neck coiled coil (NCC). Experiments showed that the kinesin-1's NCC has a high antiunwinding ability compared with conventional coiled coils, which was mainly attributed to the enhanced hydrophobic pressure arising from the unconventional sequence of kinesin-1's NCC. However, hydrophobic pressure cannot provide the shearing force which is needed to balance the tensile force on the interface between two helices. To find out the true origin of the mechanical stability of kinesin-1's NCC, we perform a novel and detailed mechanical analysis for the system based on molecular dynamics simulation at an atomic level. We find that the needed shearing force is provided by a buckle structure formed by two tyrosines which form effective steric hindrance in the presence of tensile forces. The tensile force is balanced by the tensile direction component of the contact force between the two tyrosines which forms the shearing force. The hydrophobic pressure balances the other component of the contact force perpendicular to the tensile direction. The antiunwinding strength of NCC is defined by the maximum shearing force, which is finally determined by the hydrophobic pressure. Kinesin-1 uses residues with plane side chains, tryptophans and tyrosines, to form the hydrophobic center and to shorten the interhelix distance so that a high antiunwinding strength is obtained. The special design of NCC ensures exquisite cooperation of steric hindrance and hydrophobic pressure that results in the surprising mechanical stability of NCC.

Insightful understanding of the light driven CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) mechanism on gold nanoparticles is one of the important issues in the plasmon mediated photocatalytic study. Herein, time-dependent density functional theory and reduced two-state model are adopted to investigate the photoinduced charge transfer in interfaces. According to the excitation energy and orbital coupling, the light driven mechanism of CO2RR on gold nanoparticles can be described as follows: the light induces electron excitation and then transfers to the physisorbed CO2, and CO2 can relax to a bent structure adsorbed on gold nanoparticles, and the adsorbed C-O bonds are dissociated finally. Moreover, our calculated results demonstrate that the s, p, and d electron excitations of gold nanoparticles are the major contribution for the CO2 adsorption and the C-O dissociation process, respectively. This work would promote the understanding of the light driven electron transfer and photocatalytic CO2RR on the noble metal.

Multifunctional and flexible intelligent devices are urgently needed to solve increasingly serious environmental effects on the human body. However, rendering devices with multifunctionality without sacrificing their innate flexibility and properties remains a huge challenge. Herein, a facile and efficient strategy involving Ag precursor reduction followed by a spraying technique was employed to fabricate a multifunctional and ultra-stretchable fibrous film via the incorporation of an electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibrous film, biocompatible polydopamine (PDA), highly conductive Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) and Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets. Specifically, PDA protected AgNPs from oxidation and enhanced the bond between AgNPs and TPU, and MXene was used to promote the electromagnetic interference shielding (EMI) and strain sensing performance. The optimized TPU/PDA/AgNP/MXene fibrous film (TAMF) exhibited an ultra-high electrical conductivity of 95 238 S m−1, outstanding EMI shielding efficiency (EMI SE) of 108.8 dB and high specific shielding effectiveness up to 12 342.8 dB cm2 g−1 with a thickness of 150 μm in the X-band. The flexible fibrous mat also possessed excellent Joule heating capability (up to 80 °C at a voltage of 1 V), excellent mechanosensation ability with a low detection limit of 0.1% strain, a high gauge factor of 7853, wide sensing range of 200% strain, and satisfactory flexibility, porosity and breathability, enabling its fascinating multifunctional application in wearable electromagnetic wave protection, electrical therapy and human–machine interaction.

In this work, we present the performance improved InGaZnO thin film transistors by inserting low temperature processed 10 nm thick SiOCH buffer layers between SiNx insulator and InGaZnO channel layer. The influences of oxygen flow rate during the deposition of SiOCH buffer layer have been intensively investigated. Basing on the analysis of hall effect measurement and Fourier transform infrared spectrum, the SiOCH buffer layer can effectively increase the carrier concentration of the channel layer by the hydrogen doping due to re-sputtering and diffusion effect. The InGaZnO thin film transistor with buffer layer exhibits an enhanced performance with mobility of 13.09 cm2/vs, threshold voltage of −0.55 V and Ion/Ioff over 106.

LiNi0.7Co0.1Mn0.2O2 (NCM) is a kind of promising cathode material for lithium ion batteries because of its high capacities. However, the further commercialization of this material has been seriously hindered by the unstable structure at a deep de-lithiation state. Herein, it is identified that this drawback can be diminished by Al-doping, which is inherently stable in the lattice framework to restrain the structural collapse of LiNi0.7Co0.1Mn0.2O2 at a high cut-off voltage (4.4 V). As expected, the Al-doped NCM (NCM–0.2Al) material obtains the highest reversible capacity and capacity retention (144.69 mA h g−1, 80.26%) after 90 cycles at 1C. The excellent performance demonstrates that Al-doping can effectively enhance the Li+-ion diffusion kinetic and structural stability of NCM, providing a feasible strategy for the further industrialization of Ni-rich materials.

Lead halide perovskite CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, and I) nanocrystals (NCs) are widely used in the newest generation of lighting display equipment because of their excellent optical properties. However, their poor stability remains an urgent issue to overcome. Encapsulation has become a significant and effective strategy to promote the stability of perovskite NCs, particularly by the package coating of polymer and porous materials. Herein, a simple two-step encapsulation strategy is adopted to fabricate CsPbBrI2@zeolite/PMMA composite films to replace the previous preparation methods of perovskite films. A highly efficient and stable red-emitting material with great colour purity and excellent PLQY of ∼53.9% is manufactured by this simple and effective packaging method. Furthermore, because of the first-encapsulation with zeolite, the CsPbBrI2@zeoite/PMMA composite films not only reduced the agglomeration of NCs but also obtained better optical performance and environmental stability compared to that of pure CsPbBrI2/PMMA. Ultimately, WLEDs constructed by the red-emitting CsPbBrI2@zeolite/PMMA composite material achieve an outstanding colour rendering index, luminous efficiency and correlated color temperature (CRI = 94.5, LE = 77.22 lm W−1 and CCT = 5354 K), and realize tunable colour coordinates of (0.3359–0.32912, 0.3455–0.3336) in the white light area, implying that CsPbBrI2@zeolite/PMMA is very promising for obtaining a high CRI of WLEDs instead of traditional phosphor. The facile two-step encapsulation method proposed in this study provides a prospect for obtaining high-quality perovskites.

Since excitonic quasiparticles, including excitons, trions and charges, have a great influence on the photoelectric characteristics of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), systematic explorations of the trion dynamics and charge photogeneration in 2D TMDs are important for their future optoelectronic applications. Here, broadband femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopic experiments are performed first to investigate the peak shifting and broadening kinetics in MoS2 nanosheets in solution prepared by liquid phase exfoliation (LPE-MoS2, ∼9 layers, 9L), which reveal that the binding energies for the A-, B-, and C-exciton states are ∼77 meV, ∼76 meV, and −70 meV (the energy difference between free charges and excitons; the negative sign for C-excitons means a spontaneous dissociation nature in band-nesting regions), respectively. Then, the trion dynamics and charge photogeneration in LPE-MoS2 nanosheets have been studied in detail, demonstrating that they are comparable to those in chemical vapor deposition grown MoS2 films (1L-, 3L- and 7L-MoS2). These experimental results suggest that LPE-TMD nanosheets also have the potential for use in charge-related optoelectronic devices based on 2D TMDs.

The bifunctional photocatalyst Yb–NH2-MIL-125(Ti) synthesized using a simple and convenient method enhanced photocatalytic NO removal and hydrogen production simultaneously, in which the formation of Yb species transient centers anchored on NH2-MIL-125(Ti) accelerated the transfer and separation rate of charge carriers. The NO removal rate of the optimal sample Yb-NM-6 was 66.3% (the original NH2-MIL-125(Ti) was only 28.1%), and the hydrogen production was 1883.7993 μmol g−1 (the original NH2-MIL-125(Ti) had almost no effect). A series of comparative experiments, in particular cyclic voltammogram tests, showed that the transient YbII/III centers were obtained through a non-traditional ligand to linker metal charge transfer (LLMCT) pathway, which was very different from the traditional ligand metal charge transfer (LMCT) pathway, so as to form a novel charge transfer channel to improve photocatalytic performance. This work details a feasible avenue by which to obtain a novel LLMCT pathway through introducing various metal ions anchored on metal–organic frameworks as efficient transient centers to further improve photocatalytic performance.

Control of conductance through a single molecule via alternating anchoring points provides a unique perspective to design single-molecule electronic devices. A high conductance difference among different states is essential for a single-molecule electronic device, which is challenging due to restriction of the structural changes in single-molecule junctions. Here, tetraphenylethylene derivatives with multiple anchoring sites are designed and synthesized to investigate single-molecule conductance using the scanning tunneling microscope break junction (STM-BJ) technique. In the break-junction cycle process, connection conformations with different anchor sites have been achieved reversibly to switch single-molecule conductance using the STM-BJ technique. Through mechanical control, these multi-anchored single-molecule junctions can achieve up to three conductance switching cycles, and the variation in conductance reaches up to four orders of magnitude. Theoretical calculations reveal that the conductance change originates from the different connecting sites and the different anchored configurations of single-molecule junctions provide a significantly different transmission. Our findings provide a reliable strategy to manipulate the mechanical switching and shed light on investigating the intrinsic charge transport of multi-anchored molecules.

Control-released aromatic-nanocapsules/cotton fabrics with good wash durability and long-lasting fragrance release capability have been fabricated without adhesives via electrostatic-adsorption and...

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) as one of the most common visible-light-responsive photocatalysts has been widely investigated for hydrogen generation. However, its low solar-hydrogen conversion efficiency caused by fast carrier recombination and poor catalytic activity hinders its practical applications. To address this issue, we develop a novel and highly efficient nickel-cobalt phosphide and phosphate cocatalyst-modified CdS (NiCoP/CdS/NiCoPi) photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. The dual-cocatalysts were simultaneously deposited on CdS during one phosphating step by using sodium hypophosphate as the phosphorus source. After the loading of the dual-cocatalysts, the photocurrent of CdS significantly increased, while its electrical impedance and photoluminescence emission dramatically decreased, which indicates the enhancement of charge carrier separation. It was proposed that the NiCoP cocatalyst accepts electrons and promotes hydrogen evolution, while the NiCoPi cocatalyst donates electrons and accelerates the oxidation of sacrificial agents (e.g., lactic acid). Consequently, the visible-light-driven hydrogen evolution of this composite photocatalyst greatly improved. The dual-cocatalyst-modified CdS with a loading content of 5 mol % showed a high hydrogen evolution rate of 80.8 mmol.g(-1).h(-1), which was 202 times higher than that of bare CdS (0.4 mmol.g(-1).h(-1)). This is the highest enhancement factor for metal phosphide-modified CdS photocatalysts. It also exhibited remarkable stability in a continuous photocatalytic test with a total reaction time of 24 h.

Engineering highly porous SiC foams with interconnected cellular architecture and satisfactory compressive strength for the practical applications remains a challenging task. In the current work, SiC foams bonded by in-situ formed mullite phase were fabricated via polyurethane foaming using boehmite sol-coated SiC powder as the raw material. The strategy in the current work endowed the resultant products with ultrahigh porosity, interconnected pore structure, and a robust mullite bonding phase among the SiC particles. The resulting products with this cellular architecture possessed a high porosity level of 88.5% and maintained a robust compressive strength of 2.56 MPa. Our results showed that as-prepared products are promising for practical applications in the filtration, adsorption and catalytic areas.

Understanding the bimetallic interfacial effects on the catalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is an important and challenging issue. Herein, the geometric structure, electronic structure, and electrocatalytic property of Cu(submonolayer)/Au bimetallic interfaces are investigated by using density functional theory calculation. The results predict that the expansion of the Cu lattice can significantly modulate the CO2RR performance, the Cu(submonolayer)/Au interface has good surface activity promoting the reduction of CO2 to C2 compounds, and the final products of CO2RR on Cu/Au(111) and Cu/Au(100) surfaces are ethanol and a mixture of ethanol and ethylene, respectively. Furthermore, with regard to surface coverage and adsorption energy being two essential parameters for CO2RR, we demonstrate that the reaction of *CO and *CHO is the key process for obtaining the C2 products on the Cu/Au interface. This study offers a useful strategy for improving the surface activity and selectivity for CO2RR.

A series of tests were carried out to evaluate crack resistance and mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol fiber-reinforced cement-stabilized macadam, which is widely used as pavement base or subbase composite material. Three series of cement-stabilized macadam mixtures with cement content of 3.2%, 3.6%, and 4.0% were prepared by incorporating four various contents (0, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 kg/m3) and lengths (12, 18, 24, and 30 mm) of polyvinyl alcohol fiber. The optimum polyvinyl alcohol fiber content, fiber length, and cement content were determined based on the mechanical properties of cement-stabilized macadam mixtures. Then, unconfined compressive strength test, compressive resilience modulus test, splitting strength test, flexural tensile strength test, drying shrinkage test, and temperature shrinkage test were carried out in this study. The results show that polyvinyl alcohol fiber-reinforced cement-stabilized prepared by optimum proportions (cement 3.6%, fiber content 0.9 kg/m3, and fiber length 24 mm) has good crack resistance. The incorporation of polyvinyl alcohol fiber can effectively improve compressive strength and splitting strength, while its effect on CRM of cement-stabilized macadam is not remarkable. The anti-dry-shrinkage property and anti-temperature-shrinkage property of the specimens are also drastically improved due to the reinforcement effect of polyvinyl alcohol fiber. Moreover, the crack resistance index is proposed to evaluate the crack resistance of materials. The crack resistance of PVA fiber-reinforced cement-stabilized macadam prepared by optimum proportions is improved by 44.4%. Consequently, the mechanical properties and crack resistance of cement-stabilized macadam are obviously improved by adding polyvinyl alcohol fiber.

The effect of nanomaterials on the thermal behavior of Decanoic-Caprylic Acid (DA-CA) binary eutectic mixture was investigated experimentally. Different high thermal conductivity nanomaterials, including nano-sized iron oxide (Fe2O3), nano-sized copper (Cu), hydroxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-OH), and dispersant Span-60, were added into DA-CA, respectively. The nanomaterial-enhanced phase change materials (NePCMs) were prepared by the ultrasonic oscillation method. The effects of nanomaterials on the cool storage performance of DA-CA were studied from the types and concentrations of nanomaterials. The experimental results showed that as the nanomaterials mass concentration increased, the thermal conductivity increased first and then gradually stabilized. The thermal conductivity trend for the composites added to the nanomaterials was: 0.40 g·L−1 Fe2O3 > 0.10 g·L−1 MWCNT-OH > 0.30 g·L−1 Cu. DA-CA + 0.40 g·L−1 Fe2O3 exhibited the best thermal properties, and its thermal conductivity increased by 36.8%, and the thermal storage time decreased by 38%. After 500 times thermal stability test, the NePCMs still maintained the appropriate phase change temperature and high latent heat. Therefore, this material has potential as part of the cold chain logistics for fruit and vegetable preservation.

Engineering high performance cellular ceramics with both ultralow density and satisfactory compressive strength for practical applications still represents a grand challenge. Herein, alumina-based cellular ceramics bonded by in-situ formed mullite phase were constructed by Al2O3–Si-boehmite particle-stabilized foams. The gelation of boehmite sol improved the stability and harnessed the deformation of dried Al2O3–Si composite foam. The oxidation of silicon and further generation of in-situ mullite phase enhanced the chemical bond between alumina particles on cell walls, resulting in the superior mechanical properties. As an exemplar, the resulting cellular ceramic possessed the robust compressive strength of 2.26 MPa at a high porosity of 87.8%. The gelation-assisted Al2O3–Si particle-stabilized foams provide a facile and convenient strategy for construction of composite ceramic foams with high porosity and robust strength.

Aqueous rechargeable Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) are safe, low cost, and environmentally friendly, yet the realization of both high capacity and long cycling life remains a major challenge. Herein, electrodeposited poly(1,5-naphthalenediamine) nanorods over nanoporous carbon are used as the cathode material to make aqueous ZIBs that can be operated within the voltage range of 0.1 – 1.8 ​V and have merits of both ionic battery and supercapacitor. Flexible carbon fiber fabric and thick carbon fiber felt are used as current collectors, respectively, to support the polymer/carbon composite with different mass loadings. With using the carbon fabric, flat pouch cells and cable-shaped micro cells are fabricated and show stable electrochemical performances when repeatedly bent at large angles. The pouch cells show maximum energy and power densities of 195 ​Wh kg‒1 and 104 ​W ​kg–1, respectively, and achieve a capacity retention of 91% after 10000 cycles. The prototype cell with using a 3 ​mm-thick carbon felt shows higher energy densities up to 7.7 ​mWh cm‒2 and better cycling stability, i.e., 100% capacity retention after 10000 cycles. Also, insights into the charge storage mechanism and superb cycling stability of our new polymer cathode are given.

Silver inorganic antibacterial agents have been widely used inbiotechnology, bioengineering science, electronics, optics and water treatment because of their strong bactericidal ability, high safety and durable antibacterial properties. In this paper, the preparation methods of silver nanoparticles are reviewed, including physical method, chemical method and biological method, in order to provide a reference for the further development and utilization of silver nano-antibacterial materials.

In order to find a low temperature phase change material with a temperature range of 2–8°C, decyl alcohol (DA) and myristyl alcohol (MA) binary eutectic mixture was prepared based on theoretical ca...

In this article, an electrical doping method to realize the high n-type doping for a germanium (Ge) layer in a low-doped n-type Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structure in the accumulation condition is proposed, which maintains the initial crystal quality of Ge. The direct-bandgap electroluminescence (EL) from Ge light-emitting diode (LED) has been demonstrated with 1.5– $1.6~\mu \text{m}$ infrared emission using the metal/graphene/high- ${k}$ / interfacial layer (IL)/ ${n}$ -Ge MOS structure fabricated on bulk-Ge substrate. An onset current density of 5 A cm−2 is observed, which is, up to now, the lowest onset current density compared with the Ge LEDs fabricated on unstrained Ge substrates. These results indicate the superiority of the electrical doping method and the interface passivation technique on yielding the high-performance Ge-based LEDs and lasers.

The microstructure of large-capacity anodes is of great importance in determining the performance of sodium- and potassium-ion batteries. Yolk-shell nanostructures promise excellent structural stability but suffer from insufficient charge transfer rate during cycles. Herein, we tackle this challenge by constructing a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) internally bridged yolk-shell structure, inside which SWNTs cover the surface of the yolk and connect the yolk and shell, for better electron/ion transportation. Combining the merits of both yolk-shell structure and conductive SWNT channels, the as-prepared Fe

Cellular ceramics with 3D network architecture are attracting ever-increasing attention because of their great application potential in multiple fields. Unfortunately, a daunting challenge still remains for fabricating such materials. A novel methodology is provided in the current work to construct cellular ZrO2 ceramics with such architecture by combining polyurethane foaming and chemical modification technology. Stearic acid grafted ZrO2 powder with improved dispersibility allows the successful assembly into the polyurethane porous framework. The obtained cellular materials possess a three-dimensional network architecture with windows on the cell wall. The resulting ZrO2 cellular ceramic with such unique structure exhibits a relatively high porosity (83.5%) and robust compressive strength (13.5 MPa), which outperforms most of the existing ZrO2-based counterparts. With above advantages, we envision that as-prepared products are promising for filter applications.

High entrance capacitances of ultrahigh-voltage (UHV) transformers make it difficult to generate impulses with standard front time during the lightning impulse tests. In this paper, we discuss the feasibility of examining the longitudinal insulation design of a transformer via impulses with a front time longer than the standard value. We consider the following features: transient voltage distributions and insulation characteristics of longitudinal insulation. The transient voltages of two UHV windings are measured with a capacitive voltage sensor under impulses with different front times. The results demonstrate that the front time of the applied impulse has little effect on the gradient voltage distributions and the oscillatory component of the transient voltage, but it determines the front time of transient voltages. Therefore, the relationship between breakdown characteristics of the turn-to-turn insulation and the front time is studied. Experimental results revealed that whatever the insulation thickness, an increase in the front time of the applied impulse decreases the breakdown voltage, but this variation is within acceptable tolerance when the front time changes from 1.2 μ s to 6 μ s. Thus, as long as the front time is restricted within 6 μ s, we can ensure the validity of lightning impulse tests on the examination of longitudinal insulation designs.

Exfoliated organo-montmorillonite (O-Mt) layers were successfully encapsulated in a terpolymer microsphere (PAAA) of acrylamide (AM)/acrylic acid (AA)/2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) via in situ inverse suspension polymerization, with the aid of the organic modification by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium lauryl sulfonate (SLS). The chemical structure and properties of the Mt were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), which showed that SLS molecules successfully intercalated Mt interlayers and enhanced the thermostability of Mt. The microsphere morphologies of the polymer and its nanocomposites were detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that the exfoliated O-Mt dispersed in the polymer matrix. The introduction of well-dispersed O-Mt layers significantly enhanced the comprehensive performance of these microspheres, including thermostability and plugging properties. The T max of PAAA/1.5 wt.% O-Mt nanocomposite is increased by 46°C compared to the pure terpolymer. The plugging rate of PAAA/2.0 wt.% O-Mt reached up to 85.8%. Therefore, these selected nanocomposite microspheres can provide an effective plugging in the high-permeability layers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different polishing techniques on the topographical features and phase transformation of monolithic zirconia. Four brands of zirconia were ground and polished using one of four systems. All zirconia specimens were ground with a fine-grit diamond bur (GB) prior to polishing procedures. The surface roughness and phase transition (XRD) were evaluated, and surface characterizations (SEM and XPS) were performed. The highest roughness was obtained with the Tob system. The strongest diffraction peak in the obtained XRD patterns was at 2θ=30.246°. No monoclinic phase change was found in any group. The XPS analysis showed that the atomic percentages of yttrium in the specimens of Cercon before and after polishing were the highest of any sample. All the polishing systems tested may not adversely affect the phase transformation of monolithic zirconia. The Tob system resulted in the highest roughness. The XPS analysis showed that grinding and polishing had some effects on the properties of zirconia from a microscopic point of view.

Many emerging light-harvesting systems for solar-energy capture depend on absorption of light by molecular dyes and subsequent electron transfer to metal-oxide semiconductors. However, the inhomoge...

Inverted organic light-emitting diodes (IOLEDs) have a bottom cathode, making them convenient to integrate with the preferred n-type active matrix OLED driving technologies. Furthermore, inverted OLEDs show much better air-stability compared with conventional OLEDs, due to the very reactive and sensitive of alkali doped electron injection layer (EIL) towards ambient oxygen and moisture. For inverted OLEDs, the bottleneck to limit their efficiency and stability is the interface at cathode/EIL and light emitting layer (EML)/charge transporting layer. In this paper, we have investigated the effect of different electron/hole transporting layers on the turn-on voltage, efficiency roll-off and power consumption of inverted orange OLEDs. We found that the device exhibits extremely-low efficiency roll-off and a significant lifetime improvement.